Melbourne Heart FC General Manager, Football Operations John Didulica believes the Club is well placed with recruitment ahead of next season following the arrival of new signings Mate Dugandzic and Curtis Good.
Melbourne Heart FC General Manager, Football Operations John Didulica believes the Club is well placed with recruitment ahead of next season following the arrival of new signings Mate Dugandzic and Curtis Good.
Dugandzic and Good made their debuts at Heart training this week as the squad returned to action following a two-week lay-off.
With a series of friendly matches scheduled to take place from next week, starting with a hit-out against the Ballarat Red Devils on 13 April at Eureka Stadium, the upcoming month promises to place Heart on-track to improve upon its debut season.
And following the signings of youngsters Dugandzic and Good, Didulica is confident Heart will take a step forward next season.
“We signed a lot of older players for that first season because we wanted them to help develop a professional culture quickly and show leadership to the youngsters,” he told Fairfax.
“We think that worked well, but we now have a lot of good and promising young players. Last year we used 13 players who were new to the A-League, and now we think there is almost no one on our list who we think has their best days behind them.”
That number is poised to grow over the coming months as Heart looks to recruit talent from overseas, with Head Coach John van ‘t Schip currently scouting for players in Europe.
Van ‘t Schip has also taken time while in Europe to catch-up with mentor and close friend Johan Cruyff, who played a pivotal role in his development as both a player and coach at Ajax.
Didulica said: “It’s a quick and busy schedule as he is due back here mid-April. He knows Cruyff from when he was a young player and speaks to him.”
